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Ostentian Political Crisis 2009-2010
The Ostentian Political Crisis is an ongoing political crisis in the Ostentian Parliament. Due to a change in electoral rules, no party was able to gain enough votes in the elections to win an outright majority in Parliament. Under rules introduced by Commoncold0 in 2009, changing the political system, this lead to several successive votes of confidence in different potential leaders, none of which have yet gained an outright majority, leaving Ostentia effectively in a political vacuum from December 22nd 2009 to January 1st 2010. The appointment by Parliament of Carl Miller's Alliance however was seen by many as undemocratic, thus causing the crisis to flare up again on January 3rd. Background The crisis has its roots in the constantly changing nature of Ostentia's political system (due, mainly, to Commoncold0). Following the Electoral Reform Act of December 2009, the election of government was taken out of the hands of the people and into their elected representatives if a clear majority were not established in the popular vote. The bill was the final act passed by that government, and was passed with a large majority. Parliamentarians would then have to propose motions of confidence in different members of the House of Commons and their parties. In theory this would seek to remove the much criticised Electoral Vote system, also introduced by Commoncold0 in the Electoral Reform Act (July 2009). December 2009 General Election The election of December 22nd 2009 was contested on a national level by six candidates. Lord Wallace Buttersworth stood for the AAPA-CCP Coalition, Inevitable for the Boo Party, Carl Miller for The Alliance, HRH King Zog II for the Country for Old Men Party, and Lord Davies and Commoncold0 standing as independent candidates. The election itself produced a tie between the Boo Party and the AAPA-CCP Coalition. As no majority of votes was achieved, this caused voting to go to Parliament through motions of confidence. It was expected to be over relatively quickly, and for Parliament itself to open sometime in late December. However, this was not to be the case, as successive motions were proposed and defeated. Motions of Confidence The first motion of confidence was proposed December 25th, three days after the election itself. AAPA-CCP Coalition - Lord Wallace Buttersworth The motion, proposed by DynamoJax was in support of an AAPA-CCP government lead by Lord Wallace Buttersworth, due to his having come joint first in the election with Inevitable. The motion itself was neither passed nor defeated, as its author retracted it following low support for a Buttersworth government. This was not so much the beginning of the crisis, as the baton logically passed to Inevitable and the Boo Party. The Boo Party - Inevitable A motion of support in a Boo Party government was proposed December 27th by Inevitable himself. The motion was defeated by a ratio of 3:2. This can arguably be seen as the beginning of the crisis, as a failure to nominate a candidate from the two "winning" parties became apparent. Temporary Government - DynamoJax Following Inevitable's defeat on December 28th, DynamoJax proposed a motion of his own, which would see him head a National Government for ten days, to allow political parties to conduct primaries and a fresh election to be held. The motion was more narrowly defeated, a ratio of 4:5. At this point, it was becoming apparent that things weren't working as they should, with Acting Prime Minister plqx stating that should a new government not be formed, he would resign, presenting possibly an even worse crisis. Country for Old Men Party - HRH King Zog II In light of the failure of the first two parties to create governments, third party leader HRH King Zog II proposed a motion of confidence in himself on December 30th. This motion was returned, the House being deadlocked in its support, evidently rather desperate to create a government. The Alliance - Carl Miller A motion of support for Carl Miller's The Alliance was opened on December 31st by Lord Wallace Buttersworth, the final motion of 2009. Clearly in desperation, Parliament voted 5:4 to support the relatively small and obscure Alliance Party, thus effectively ending the election crisis with a government by Carl Miller. Post-Election Troubles Carl Miller began governing in early January 2009, and was quick to name himself President, rather than the more usually used Prime Minister. Member of Parliament for Imbrium, Cieran, announced himself as Leader of the Opposition, to little opposition. While his shadow cabinet is yet to be announced, it is expected to contain Commoncold0 and Lord Davies. As opposition leader his first act was to propose a motion of no confidence in Miller's government, calling for fresh elections in the wake of an undemocratic government. At this point, the Ostentian people realised that The Alliance had been appointed to government with only 8% of the national vote, causing their popularity to plummet to a record low. Further to this, there was a possibility raised that Miller's government may well be unconstitutional, as it may violate a section of the constitution requiring governments to be chosen on the basis of national elections rather than Parliamentary votes. Inevitable vs. Commoncold0 Following the revelations that the December 2009 Electoral Reform Act had effectively in the eyes of many caused the crisis, Inevitable launched a court case against Commoncold0, alleging that his constant desire for electoral reform made Parliament hard for smaller parties to enter and has threatened the very state of the nation. Further to this, Inevitable implied in his initial filing that Commoncold0 may be working with enemies of the Ostentian state in order to undermine it.